The "Portfolio" option will bring up a window similar to the one below as its first, main window.

The portfolio is where you keep all your job application material. Everything in your portfolio is private; an employer has access to only those items that you have submitted in a job application. The Standard Coversheet is required for and shared by all jobs; it only needs to be done once ... be sure to fill it out as completely as possible

Let's take a look at the items on this page:

The *Links* listed in the AcademicJobsOnline.Org header are all the actions/options available to you as an applicant. The first link is "Portfolio", which would just reload the Portfolio page you are on right now. The other links would take you out of Portfolio and into the option associated with the link selected.

The first item is Standard Cover Sheet. If you have not submitted your cover sheet here at AcademicJobsOnline.org yet, you will see a prompt to do so, as is shown in the example window above. Details on creating or updating your cover sheet are below. Again, the Cover Sheet is required for all jobs ... be sure to fill it out as completely as possible.

Following the Standard Cover Sheet are the other portfolio items you may need to submit: a Cover Letter, CV, Publication List, Research and Teaching Statements. Details on creating or updating other portfolio items for these categories are below.

If you have already submitted an item to any of the portfolio categories, this item will appear on the "Portfolio" page like this example:

Curriculum Vitae

cv #1 [data (format type of file, pdf, xx bytes, in use)]

Clicking on the portfolio category name again (here, it is Curriculum Vitae) will allow you to create additional Portfolio entry items.

Clicking on the entry item name (e.g., cv #1, in the example above) will allow you to update or delete this portfolio entry. If you wish to replace a file you had specified here earlier, simply upload a new file to replace the old one on this screen.

The next link refers to the actual submitted portfolio material and the format it was submitted in. Clicking on it brings up the data in that format. This portfolio item format link could be Word, PDF, PostScript, DVI, GIF, JPEG, LaTeX, TeX, RTF, HTML, or TEXT.

Clicking on the pdf link will bring up your portfolio item in PDF format, which you then then print out and mail to an employer.

The tag in use means this entry is used in your current job appplications. If you move your mouse cursor over the tag, you'll see the employers which have access to the entry. You can't delete this entry, but you can update it with a new file if needed, and the update will be reflect in your related applications right away.

The last item, add your own..., allows you to add a portfolio category of your own. If you have a document that you want to add to your portfolio but it doesn't fit into any of the above categories, click on this item.

On the Create a new portfolio entry form that comes up, you can leave the Category Select One dropdown as is and then type a new category name into the blank text box after "or new" (for example, "Preprints".)

After you have created it, your new portfolio entry will be displayed on this page at the end of the list of portfolio items, with another add your own... link available again below that.

See the previous item for more information on working with submitted portfolio items listed on this page. Details on creating or updating your portfolio items are below.

Creating or updating your cover sheet

If you click on the Standard Cover Sheet link, the Create A New Cover Sheet form will come up if you have not yet subbmitted a Cover Sheet. If you have already submitted your cover sheet and you are now updating it, you will see the title Update Your Existing Cover Sheet on this page instead.

If your e-mail address changes (new email server, you move to another institution, etc.), be sure to update it here. Once you update your email address here, you will need to use that new email address to log in to AcademicJobsOnline.org to access your account and all its data.

Most of the items on the Cover Sheet are self-explanatory, but let's look at some of these items for clarification.

About halfway down the cover sheet page, you'll see, Would you like to be considered for a temporary position?. This item is asking: If, in the event you are unsuccessful in obtaining the position you are applying for and you want to be considered for other, temporary positions in the department, check the checkbox following the question.

If you checked the checkbox (indicating "yes"), please, in addition, check the appropriate box(es) below this for the type of time-limited position(s) you would consider. The types of positions you can choose are: Postdoctoral Position, 2+ Year Position, and 1 Year Position.

Below this you will list all your References. The Email address is required. There are also checkboxes above the Name text box that you may want to utilize:

The first checkbox is concerns teaching?. Check here if this person is a teaching reference. Once this is checked, a notation, (teaching), will appear after the Reference's name, which can be seen by an employer when you have applied for one of their positions.

The second checkbox is email notify write on submit. When you are ready to notify your references, you can edit your cover sheet here, to check this checkbox and resubmit your cover sheet form. An automated email with login information will be sent to your references to request their reference letters.
For existing references, you can also click on the green arrows there to email the letter requests
without resubmitting your coversheet form. Once your reference writers have uploaded any letters, all the
letters you have, along with any access restrictions, will be listed here.

If the Reference Writer will not be using AcademicJobsOnline, check the box: "check here to indicate that this writer wants to send references by postal mail".

If the Name/Email you entered is for a staff person who'll upload letters for multiple faculty members, check the box: "must check here if the person above will upload letters on behalf of multiple writers" and enter the actual writers' names in the box provided.

The last section on this form is Questions about your AcademicJobsOnline.org account.

There is a chebox for List me in the "Job Wanted" list .. . The "Job Wanted" (or "Free agent") list, is only accessible by participating employers. Listing yourself here will not prevent you from applying for any jobs listed on AcademicJobsOnline.org. Check the checkbox and describe the position you are looking for.

If you check the checkbox, be sure to also specify an end date in the Listed until text box, below the area for describing your job search. By default, a date for the beginning of the next academic year will be listed here, which you can modify. Be sure to specify the end date in the format: YYYY-MM-DD, YYYY/MM/DD, YY-MM-DD, or YY/MM/DD.

If you wish to remove yourself from consideration for all positions for which you've been applying, click the checkbox I'm now off the job market .. . Employers whose jobs you have applied for will see an "Off the Market" designation next to your name. You will not be considered for any jobs as long as this is checked. Checking this button will also remove you from the Job Wanted .. list.

The option (Caution!!!) Delete my account... will remove your account from the system. It is only available to those who have not yet made any applications.

The last item is Remove my account and all files .. . Once all the jobs you've applied for are finished, you may wish to remove all your data from the system (essentially "delete yourself"). You can check this box if you wish to do this. This will cause your files to be deleted three months after all the jobs you've applied for are marked "finished" by the employers. For applicants who never apply for any jobs, checking this box will cause an account to be deleted after six months. If you have simply moved, you do not need to delete this account and create another one.

If your e-mail address changes (new email server, you move to another institution, etc.), be sure to update it here. Once you update your email address here, you will need to use that new email address to log in to AcademicJobsOnline.org to access your account and all its data.

Click on submit button for this information to be submitted for your cover sheet.

Creating, updating or deleting other portfolio entries

From the Portfolio page, click on any of the remaining categories to create, update, or delete your other Portfolio entries:

Cover Letter

Curriculum Vitae

Publication List

Research Statement

Teaching Statement

add your own...

Here you will be able to create or update entries for your Cover Letter, CV, Publication List, Research and Teaching Statements, or any other portfolio category you may wish to create.

To the right of Category is a drop-down box with a selection of the portfolio entry categories. Select from : Cover Letter, CV, Publication List, Research Statement, Teaching Statement, or Select One. The category you chose on the Portfolio page will determine which selection, by default, will show up first in this drop-down box. You can accept the default selection or choose a different one.

To create a new, additional category of your own, choose Select One and then type a new category name into the blank text box after or new. An example might be "Preprints". Your new portfolio entry will be displayed on the main Portfolio page at the end of the list of portfolio categories, with an add your own... link below that.

Next, enter a meaningful name for this portfolio item at Entry Name.

The next section is Data, where you will enter your data or specify your data file.

If your portfolio item is a file on your computer, you will use the first item here, Select a file to upload, to do this. Your file can be in any of the following format: PDF, Word, PostScript, DVI, GIF, JPEG, LaTeX, TeX, RTF, HTML, or TEXT. Click on the Browse.. button to select a local file from your computer.

In the text box just below OR type in text/url/html directly in the following text area, you have another option for entering your portfolio item. You can enter your data in one of three ways:

You can simply type in your letter as plain text right here. Just click on the text box and start typing!

If you have created a web page that contains your reference letter for this applicant, enter the URL for that web page here in the text box.

If you would like to submit your reference letter for this applicant as HTML, enter the HTML here in the text box.

If you are creating this portfolio item, you will have the buttons Upload, to submit this portfolio item, and Reset, which will set the form back to its original state.